Kyrie | David Rayl | MusicSpoke

edited by David Rayl

Notes:

This charming choral gem comes from the pen of Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944) and exhibits all the hallmarks of her compositional style—lyrical melodies, clear textures, and mildly chromatic harmonies. The modest ranges of the two parts— sopranos D4-E5 and altos B3-D5—make this an ideal work for treble ensembles of all ages and ability levels. Performance by tenor-bass ensembles is also viable option. The score calls for organ (or harmonium) accompaniment, which adapts easily to the piano. This edition, based on the original publication of 1927, clarifies dynamic markings and offers suggestions for breaths in both the choral and keyboard parts.

History has not been kind to Cécile Chaminade. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries her composing and performing made her one of the most recognizable names in French music, but the last two decades of her life were spent in relative solitude, and she died in obscurity. Chaminade wrote over 400 works, nearly all of which were published (a mark of distinction in itself), but little of her music has made its way to the modern-day concert stage. Flutists know her Concertino, Op. 107 (commissioned by the Paris Conservatoire in 1902), pianists know some of her character pieces, and a few of her songs have crept back into the vocal recital programs, but most choral conductors are completely unaware of her Messe pour deux voix égales. This edition hopes to provide a small step toward correcting that oversight.

Chaminade was born to musical parents of some affluence who recognized her talent early on. Bizet was their neighbor and dubbed the young Cécile his “little Mozart.” In the late 1860s she played some of her piano compositions for Liszt, who compared her approach to that of Chopin. Her ballet symphonique, Callirhoë, Op. 37, was premiered in Marseille in 1888 and subsequently staged more than 200 times. She gave public recitals of her own music as early as 1878 and performed her own works—primarily her character pieces for piano and her melodies to packed concert halls throughout Europe. In England, she received the Jubilee Medal from Queen Victoria in 1897, and her Prelude for Organ, Op. 78, was performed at the Queen’s funeral in 1901. She was even more popular in the United States, where thousands of American women participated in “ Chaminade Clubs,” musical so cieties focused on amateur performances and discussion, with a fair amount of Chaminade veneration. She toured the U.S. in 1908, appearing in major musical venues on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Chaminade received the Légion d'honneur in 1913, the first female French composer to be so recognized. In spite of all these successes, by the time of her death in 1944, her music was already out of fashion and seldom performed.

O r g a n o r P i a n o

Moderato = 88    

K Y R I E

f r o m M a s s , O p . 1 6 7

f o r t w o e q u a l v o i c e s a n d o r g a n o r p i a n o

C é c i l e C h a m i n a d e e d i t e d b y D a v i d R a y l

dolce

dolce

dolce

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rallen.

sempre a tempo

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sempre

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